So I figure I'd try the free month of their online service, mainly because they now allow you to return your DVD mailers to the store in exchange for another immediate rental. After years of gouging their customers with outrageous prices, I finally saw a "good deal" at the franchise and figured I'd give it a spin.

Their delivery time is just as good as Netflix (which I still love and subscribe to, obviously) and the store-return policy works pretty well. Given that I'm using this trial month for new releases only, my normal gripe about BB (that their selection sucks) hasn't really been an issue. But I did notice one thing:

Movies like Epic Movie and Stomp the Yard have giants chunks of shelving. Easily 75 copies of each movie. The ones I was looking for? The Good German (2 copies) and Letters from Iwo Jima (3 copies). And I'm talking about the day these DVDs came out, not six weeks down the line when the overstock starts getting tossed out for sale.

Sure LFIJ is in Japanese with English subtitles, which means a large portion of the mouth-breathers will never check it out ... so how does one explain the 75 copies of Apocalypto, which (obviously) is also subtitled? And while I can plainly see why TGG wouldn't be considered a HUGE renter, it's got freakin' George Clooney in it! Only two freakin' copies of that movie? Next to about 115 copies of Epic Movie? Tough not to become a little snobbish about the country's taste in movies, if you ask me.

I'm tellin' ya: The Blockbuster new release shelves are like the results of a nationwide study. And the bottom line is pretty depressing._________________Scott Weinberg

BB won't carry the DVD unless they change the cover. The example they pick is priceless.

Wait, what? Blockbuster gets to dictate marketing decisions to a filmmaker? And it's not like the cover is inappropriate or "too hot for Blockbuster" — their objection is the reverse.

Blockbuster needs to die already. Netflix won, it's over. If I were that filmmaker, I'd be like "Fine. French my urethra, Blockbuster. Netflix carries my movie, I don't need you dumbasses."

Oh, and whenever anyone starts a Blockbuster whipping party I'm required by international law to break out the link to my piece on working for The Man._________________But I wish the public could, in the midst of its pleasures, see how blatantly it is being spoon-fed, and ask for slightly better dreams.

- Iris Barry, Let's Go to the Movies, 1926
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Shoot him again. His soul is still dancing.

If you remember BB from the days of DEJ Entertainment, you'll remember how just about every box art from that line looked the same, down to fonts and colors. BB has it in their head that only a specific look will stand out on shelves, which is silly once you hit the point where everything looks the same.

And the problem the filmmakers had is the same as Wal-Mar deciding not to carry something: it's exposure on a massive scale that they'd otherwise never get. As far as I know, they still haven't got the damn thing in stores, although Blockbuster.com does feature it - with the original cover art. Huh.

Back to Scott's original rant: I'm reminded of an old Daily Show joke from the Kilborn days. They were covering the original AFI 100 list, with the punchline something along the lines of "Unfortunately, you won't be able to find any of these movies at Blockbuster, although they do have 150 copies of Speed 2."